U.S. Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Enforce Immigration Order on Refugees

On Tuesday, September 12, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Donald Trump administration permission to enforce an immigration order that halts the acceptance of refugees for 120 days. According to Reuters, the Supreme Court's ruling overturned a decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, allowing the Trump administration to prevent over 24,000 refugees from entering the U.S. This ruling is considered a victory for the Trump administration as the Supreme Court, the highest judicial authority in the U.S., is set to hear arguments from the government and opponents regarding another part of the immigration order that temporarily halts the entry of citizens from six predominantly Muslim countries in October. Meanwhile, the Attorney General of Hawaii stated that he respects the Supreme Court's ruling and is preparing necessary documents for the case in October. Last Thursday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled to reduce the restrictions of the immigration order. According to this ruling, refugees who have received official permission from immigration agencies in the U.S. are exempt from the temporary restrictions of the immigration order and can enter the U.S. However, the U.S. Justice Department requested the Supreme Court to intervene in this matter on Monday. Reuters reports that the Justice Department did not challenge a part of the 9th Circuit Court's ruling concerning the exemption of second-degree relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents from the six predominantly Muslim countries. On Monday, Justice Anthony Kennedy temporarily blocked the enforcement of the San Francisco appellate court's ruling so that all nine members of the Supreme Court could review the ruling in their session on Tuesday. If Justice Kennedy had not intervened, the San Francisco appellate court's ruling regarding refugees would have been enforceable starting Tuesday. Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 6, halting the entry of nationals from six predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Sudan, for 90 days, while also stopping the entry of refugees for 120 days. Trump and the U.S. government claim that the purpose of this order is to prevent the entry of 'terrorists' and the occurrence of 'terrorist attacks' on U.S. soil. However, this immigration order has not been fully implemented due to rulings from several federal courts and the intervention of the Supreme Court. In June, the Supreme Court announced that this immigration order should be implemented in a limited manner, and citizens from these six countries who have some form of 'bona fide connection' with U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or entities in the United States should be temporarily exempt from this order.